Police defends arrest of woman in Coral Bay hit and run

Police on Wednesday defended its decision to arrest a 23 year old woman following what police think was a deliberate hit and run in Coral Bay last Sunday which led to the death of one Briton and the injury of another.

It said that it always acted within the law in its effort to fully investigate a suspected case of premeditated murder. The woman was in the car driven by a man, who is also in police custody. Eye witnesses had told police the two Britons had intervened when the man assaulted the woman at a Coral Bay bar, a little before the incident.

Critics have said that the woman is a victim of family violence and not a culprit and called for her immediate release.

In a written statement, the Advisory Committee for the Prevention & Combating of Violence in the Family expressed indignation at the woman’s arrest and eight day detention and called on the Justice Minister to intervene immediately for her release.

It said that evidence in police hands shows that the two Britons had tried to defend the woman from the suspected hit and run driver after he assaulted her in bar.

In its announcement, police clarified that the woman was arrested and remanded in custody on the basis of a court issued arrest warrant, followed by a custody order. It said the police was sensitive and had a ‘human face’ and had taken all facts into consideration before arresting the woman.